S-Heterocyclic s-Indacenodifluorene: Synthesis, Properties, and Thermally Tunable Ambipolar Field-Effect Mobility

Design of semiconducting materials with facile control of charge transport and the nature of charge carriers is essential for realizing niche applications with organic electronics. Described herein are the synthesis, crystal structure, and analysis of the electronic properties of a four-stage redox amphoteric S-heterocyclic s-indacenodifluorene 6, including the study of its ambipolar charge carrier mobility (µh and µe) in organic field-effect transistor (OFET) devices. Despite being electron-rich, our investigation revealed reversible reduction potentials for 6 in the cyclic voltammetry, which is attributed to the recovery of locally aromatic thiophene and cyclopentadienyl anion units upon electron injection for the two antiaromatic S-heterocyclic as-indacene units in accordance with the Glidewell-Lloyd rule of aromaticity. In line with this, we observed an interesting thermal tunability of the nature of charge carriers from p-type to balanced ambipolar to n-type charge transport with reasonable semiconductor mobility in all regimes of transport. This behavior is correlated with the modification of the transport levels upon annealing of the semiconductor and possible increase in the extent of π-electron delocalization with increasing temperature. This proof-of-concept tunability of the nature of charge transport indicates the efficacy of our molecular design.

Intramolecular Charge Transfer in Antiaromatic Donor/Acceptor-Fused s-Indacenes

Herein we report the synthesis and characterization of four donor/acceptor-fused s-indacenes via the late-stage oxidation of a family of unsymmetrical benzofuran/benzothiophene-s-indacene regioisomers. A thorough study of their properties through experimental and computational analysis has revealed the effect of asymmetry on the molecular properties associated with antiaromaticity, as well as a strong correlation between antiaromaticity and intramolecular charge transfer (ICT). The strength of the charge transfer depends on the fusion orientation of the donor and acceptor motifs relative to the s-indacene core. The two most antiaromatic oxidized isomers exhibit strong evidence of ICT with 30 and 40 nm solvatochromic shifts.

Effects of benzoheterocyclic annelation on the s-indacene core: a computational analysis

Aromaticity and antiaromaticity are pivotal concepts in chemistry, with significant implications for molecular properties and reactivity. In particular, thanks to their increased conductivity and small HOMO-LUMO energy gaps, antiaromatic molecules are promising for use in organic electronics. The inherent instability of such molecules is often addressed by carbocyclic fusion, which also reduces the antiaromaticity of the core structure. Herein, we have employed a computational approach to explore the effects of heterocyclic fusion on the s-indacene core, focusing on three main aspects: the impact of the heteroatom, the heterocycle, and extended conjugation. We found that the heteroatoms themselves can substantially modulate antiaromaticity, and that the site of substitution plays a large role in the extent of stabilization afforded. Heterocycle fusion further modulates antiaromaticity, though to a lesser extent than the heteroatom effect. This effect diminishes upon benzannelation, highlighting the complexity of aromatic and antiaromatic interplay. Our findings offer a nuanced understanding of the factors affecting antiaromaticity in s-indacene-based polycyclic systems, providing a conceptual framework for predicting and tuning these properties for applications in organic electronics. This work underscores the importance of both substitution position and heterocyclic fusion in designing stable antiaromatic compounds.

Specific Photocatalytic C-C Coupling of Benzyl Alcohol to Deoxybenzoin or Benzoin by Precise Control of Cα-H Bond Activation or O-H Bond Activation by Adjusting the Adsorption Orientation of Hydrobenzoin Intermediates

Benzyl alcohol (BA) is a major biomass derivative and can be further converted into deoxybenzoin (DOB) and benzoin (BZ) as high-value products for industrial applications through photocatalytic C-C coupling reaction. The photocatalytic process contains two reaction steps, which are (1) the C-C coupling of BA to hydrobenzoin (HB) intermediates and (2) either dehydration of HB to DOB or dehydrogenation of HB to BZ. We found that generation of DOB or BZ is mainly determined by the activation of Cα-H or O-H bonds in HB. In this study, phase junction CdS photocatalysts and Ni/CdS photocatalysts were elaborately designed to precisely control the activation of Cα-H or O-H bonds in HB by adjusting the adsorption orientation of HB on the photocatalyst surfaces. After orienting the Cα-H groups in HB on the CdS surfaces, the Cα-H bond dissociation energy (BDE) at 1.39 eV is lower than the BDE of the O-H bond at 2.69 eV, therefore improving the selectivity of the DOB. Conversely, on Ni/CdS photocatalysts, the O-H groups in HB orient toward the photocatalyst surfaces. The BDE of the O-H bonds is 1.11 eV to form BZ, which is lower than the BDE of the Cα-H bonds to the DOB (1.33 eV), thereby enhancing the selectivity of BZ. As a result, CdS photocatalysts can achieve complete conversion of BA to 80.4% of the DOB after 9 h of visible light irradiation, while 0.3% Ni/CdS photocatalysts promote complete conversion of BA to 81.5% of BZ after only 5 h. This work provides a promising strategy in selective conversion of BA to either DOB or BZ through delicate design of photocatalysts.

Insight into magnetically induced ring currents and photophysics of six-porphyrin nanorings

The series of nanorings based on Zn-porphyrins and tetraoxa-isophlorins in different oxidation states (Q = 0, 2+, 4+, 6+) have been studied studied computationally at density functional theory level (DFT) using BHandHLYP functional combined with def2-SVP basis sets. Magnetically induced ring currents of nanorings have been calculated using the GIMIC method and the Ampère-Maxwell integration scheme. Ring current calculations show that neutral nanorings sustain equal diatropic and paratropic currents of 8 nA T-1, resulting in zero net ring current strengths. The charged nanorings sustain strong ring currents with tropicity depending on the oxidation state Q. Among the considered nanorings, the nanoring composed of 6 isophlorins c-Iso66+ is the most aromatic with a ring current of IGIMIC = 81.6 nA T-1. The structure c-P62+ with a ring current of IGIMIC = 54.9 nA T-1 can be considered as the most aromatic among the synthesized porphyrin nanorings. Spin-orbit coupling matrix elements, oscillator strengths, and excitation energies calculated at the CAM-B3LYP/def2-SVP level of theory were used to estimate rate constants for radiative and nonradiative processes. The algorithm based on X-H approximation were used to calculate the internal conversion rates (kIC). The main channel for the deactivation of the excitation energy in the studied nanorings is the process of internal conversion. The deactivation of excited energy occurs due to the vibrations of certain groups of C-H bonds in the nanorings. The nanoring c-Iso6 has magnetically allowed low-lying transitions that contributes significantly to the paratropic ring current, resulting in strong local antiaromaticity in the tetraoxa-isophlorin units.

Mechanistic Implications of the Varying Susceptibility of PAHs to Pyro-Catalytic Treatment as a Function of Their Ionization Potential and Hydrophobicity

Transition metal catalysts in soil constituents (e.g., clays) can significantly decrease the pyrolytic treatment temperature and energy requirements for efficient removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and, thus, lead to more sustainable remediation of contaminated soils. However, the catalytic mechanism and its rate-limiting steps are not fully understood. Here, we show that PAHs with lower ionization potential (IP) are more easily removed by pyro-catalytic treatment when deposited onto Fe-enriched bentonite (1.8% wt. ion-exchanged content). We used four PAHs with decreasing IP: naphthalene > pyrene > benz(a)anthracene > benzo(g,h,i)perylene. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations showed that lower IP results in stronger PAH adsorption to Fe(III) sites and easier transfer of π-bond electrons from the aromatic ring to Fe(III) at the onset of pyrolysis. We postulate that the formation of aromatic radicals via this direct electron transfer (DET) mechanism is the initiation step of a cascade of aromatic polymerization reactions that eventually convert PAHs to a non-toxic and fertility-preserving char, as we demonstrated earlier. However, IP is inversely correlated with PAH hydrophobicity (log Kow), which may limit access to the Fe(III) catalytic sites (and thus DET) if it increases PAH sorption to soil OM. Thus, ensuring adequate contact between sorbed PAHs and the catalytic reaction centers represents an engineering challenge to achieve faster remediation with a lower carbon footprint via pyro-catalytic treatment.

COMPAS-3: a dataset of peri-condensed polybenzenoid hydrocarbons

We introduce the third installment of the COMPAS Project - a COMputational database of Polycyclic Aromatic Systems, focused on peri-condensed polybenzenoid hydrocarbons. In this installment, we develop two datasets containing the optimized ground-state structures and a selection of molecular properties of ∼39k and ∼9k peri-condensed polybenzenoid hydrocarbons (at the GFN2-xTB and CAM-B3LYP-D3BJ/cc-pvdz//CAM-B3LYP-D3BJ/def2-SVP levels, respectively). The manuscript details the enumeration and data generation processes and describes the information available within the datasets. An in-depth comparison between the two types of computation is performed, and it is found that the geometrical disagreement is maximal for slightly-distorted molecules. In addition, a data-driven analysis of the structure-property trends of peri-condensed PBHs is performed, highlighting the effect of the size of peri-condensed islands and linearly annulated rings on the HOMO-LUMO gap. The insights described herein are important for rational design of novel functional aromatic molecules for use in, e.g., organic electronics. The generated datasets provide a basis for additional data-driven machine- and deep-learning studies in chemistry.

Effect of Benzo-Annelation on Triplet State Energies in Polycyclic Conjugated Hydrocarbons

In a series of earlier studies, the effect of benzo-annelation was found to be a useful tool for tuning the aromaticity in polycyclic conjugated compounds to desired level. In this work we studied the (anti)aromaticity of benzo-annelated derivatives of three conjugated hydrocarbons (anthracene, fluoranthene and biphenylene) in their lowest lying singlet (S0) and triplet (T1) states by means of the energy effect (ef), harmonic oscillator model of aromaticity (HOMA), multicentre delocalization indices (MCI), magnetically induced current densities (MICDs) and nucleus independent chemical shifts (NICS). We showed that benzo-annelation is a topology-based effect which can be used to modify the T1 state excitation energies (E(T1)). A quantitative model was established being able to accurately predict the E(T1) based only on the numbers of angularly, linearly and geminally annelated benzene rings. In addition, it was demonstrated that the E(T1) can be directly related to the (anti)aromatic character of the central ring in the studied molecules in their S0 state.

Aromaticity Reversal Induced by Vibrations in Cyclo[16]carbon

Aromaticity is typically regarded as an intrinsic property of a molecule, correlated with electron delocalization, stability, and other properties. Small variations in the molecular geometry usually result in small changes in aromaticity, in line with Hammond's postulate. For example, introducing bond-length alternation in benzene and square cyclobutadiene by modulating the geometry along the Kekulé vibration gradually decreases the magnitude of their ring currents, making them less aromatic and less antiaromatic, respectively. A sign change in the ring current, corresponding to a reversal of aromaticity, typically requires a gross perturbation such as electronic excitation, addition or removal of two electrons, or a dramatic change in the molecular geometry. Here, we use multireference calculations to show how movement along the Kekulé vibration, which controls bond-length alternation, induces a sudden reversal in the ring current of cyclo[16]carbon, C16. This reversal occurs when the two orthogonal π systems of C16 sustain opposing currents. These results are rationalized by a Hückel model which includes bond-length alternation, and which is combined with a minimal model accounting for orbital contributions to the ring current. Finally, we successfully describe the electronic structure of C16 with a "divide-and-conquer" approach suitable for execution on a quantum computer.

Dibenzoheterole-Fused s-Indacenes

Heterole (pyrrole, thiophene, furan, thiophene-S,S-dioxide)-fused s-indacenes are known for their enhanced paratropic ring-current strength. However, the outcome of the antiaromatic properties for dibenzoheterole-fused s-indacene antiaromatics remained underexplored. Carbazole-, dibenzothiophene-, dibenzofuran-, and dibenzo[b,d]thiophene-5,5-dioxide-fused s-indacenes 1-4, respectively, were synthesized and characterized by experimental (NMR, single-crystal, UV-vis, CV) and computational (DFT) approaches to study the ground-state antiaromatic properties. Sulfone-containing 4 showed the weakest paratropic ring-current strength for the s-indacene unit, while 1-3 showed a relatively greater paratropicity for the s-indacene unit, as evidenced by the changes in 1H NMR chemical shifts of s-indacene protons. Such observation was explained by the electron-withdrawing effect of the sulfone group and loss of 4n + 2 aromaticity of the heterole unit for 4 reducing its s-indacene paratropicity strength as the nonaromaticity of the heterole unit reduces the π-bond character at the dibenzo[b,d]thiophene-5,5-dioxide/s-indacene fusion site to avoid antiaromatic s-indacene ring formation. The modulation of the paratropic ring-current strength of s-indacene for 1-4 was further supported by the NICS(1)zz and ring-current (ACID) calculations.

Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Thienothiadiazole-Based D-π-A-π-D Fluorophores as Potential NIR Imaging Agents

As fluorescence bioimaging has increased in popularity, there have been numerous reports on designing organic fluorophores with desirable properties amenable to perform this task, specifically fluorophores with emission in the near-infrared II (NIR-II) region. One such strategy is to utilize the donor-π-acceptor-π-donor approach (D-π-A-π-D), as this allows for control of the photophysical properties of the resulting fluorophores through modulation of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels. Herein, we illustrate the properties of thienothiadiazole (TTD) as an effective acceptor moiety in the design of NIR emissive fluorophores. TTD is a well-known electron-deficient species, but its use as an acceptor in D-π-A-π-D systems has not been extensively studied. We employed TTD as an acceptor unit in a series of two fluorophores and characterized the photophysical properties through experimental and computational studies. Both fluorophores exhibited emission maxima in the NIR-I that extends into the NIR-II. We also utilized electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy to rationalize differences in the measured quantum yield values and demonstrated, to our knowledge, the first experimental evidence of radical species on a TTD-based small-molecule fluorophore. Encapsulation of the fluorophores using a surfactant formed polymeric nanoparticles, which were studied by photophysical and morphological techniques. The results of this work illustrate the potential of TTD as an acceptor in the design of NIR-II emissive fluorophores for fluorescence bioimaging applications.

Quest for the Most Aromatic Pathway in Charged Expanded Porphyrins

Despite the central role of aromaticity in the chemistry of expanded porphyrins, the evaluation of aromaticity remains difficult for these extended macrocycles. The presence of multiple conjugation pathways and different planar and nonplanar π-conjugation topologies makes the quantification of global and local aromaticity even more challenging. In neutral expanded porphyrins, the predominance of the aromatic conjugation pathway passing through the imine-type nitrogens and circumventing the amino NH groups is established. However, for charged macrocycles, the question about the main conjugation circuit remains open. Accordingly, different conjugation pathways in a set of neutral, anionic, and cationic expanded porphyrins were investigated by means of several aromaticity indices rooted in the structural, magnetic, and electronic criteria. Overall, our results reveal the predominance of the conjugation pathway that passes through all nitrogen atoms to describe the aromaticity of deprotonated expanded porphyrins, while the outer pathway through the perimeter carbon atoms becomes the most aromatic in protonated macrocycles. In nonplanar and charged macrocycles, a discrepancy between electronic and magnetic descriptors is observed. Nevertheless, our work demonstrates AVmin remains the best tool to determine the main conjugation pathway of expanded porphyrins.

Simple and efficient visualization of aromaticity: bond currents calculated from NICS values

Aromaticity is a fundamental concept in chemistry, underpinning the properties and reactivity of many organic compounds and materials. The ability to easily and accurately discern aromatic behavior is key to leveraging it as a design element, yet most aromaticity metrics struggle to combine accurate quantitative evaluation, intuitive interpretability, and user-friendliness. We introduce a new method, NICS2BC, which uses simple and inexpensive NICS calculations to generate information-rich and easily-interpreted bond-current graphs. We test the quantitative and qualitative characterizations afforded by NICS2BC for a selection of molecules of varying structural and electronic complexity, to demonstrate its accuracy and ease of analysis. Moreover, we show that NICS2BC successfully identifies ring-current patterns in molecules known to be difficult cases to interpret with NICS and enables deeper understanding of local aromaticity trends, demonstrating that our method adds additional insight.

Hydrogen bonding interactions can decrease clar sextet character in acridone pigments

Computed nucleus-independent chemical shifts (NICS), contour plots of isotropic magnetic shielding (IMS), and gauge-including magnetically induced current (GIMIC) plots suggest that polarization of the π-system of acridones may perturb the numbers and positions of Clar sextet rings. Decreasing numbers of Clar sextets are connected to experimental observations of a narrowing HOMO-LUMO gap and increased charge mobility in solid-state assemblies of quinacridone and epindolidione.

The role of electric field, peripheral chains, and magnetic effects on significant 1H upfield shifts of the encapsulated molecules in chalcogen-bonded capsules

The chalcogen-bonded homo-cavitand and hetero-cavitand AY+AY' capsules (Y, Y' = Se, Te), as well as their encapsulated complexes with one or two guest molecules have been studied theoretically via density functional theory (DFT), while the ¹H NMR spectra of the homo-cavitand encapsulated complexes (in ASe+ASe) have been measured experimentally. There is excellent agreement between theoretical and experimental spectra. In all cases, we found significant ¹H upfield shifts which are more intense in the ASe+ASe cage compared to the ATe+ATe and ASe+ATe cages. The non-uniform electron distribution which gives rise to an inherent electric field and a non-zero electric dipole moment of the encapsulated complexes, the induced electric field effects, the magnetic anisotropy which is enhanced due to the polarizability of chalcogen atoms, and the peripheral chains, which are responsible for the solubility of the cages, increase the upfield shifts of ¹H of the encapsulated molecules; the peripheral chains lead to an increase of the upfield shifts by up to 1.8 ppm for H of the rim and up to 1.2 ppm for the terminal H in the interior of the cage. Hence, substantial ¹H upfield chemical shifts of the guests in these capsules are consequences of (i) the enhanced aromaticity of the walls of the capsules due to the polarizability of chalcogen atoms, (ii) the induced and inherent electric field effects, and (iii) the peripheral chains.

Evaluating Donor Effects in Isoindigo-Based Small Molecular Fluorophores

Small molecular organic fluorophores have garnered significant interest because of their indispensable use in fluorescence imaging (FI) and optoelectronic devices. Herein, we designed triphenylamine (TPA)-capped donor-acceptor-donor (D-A-D)-based fluorophores having a variation at the heterocyclic donor (D) units, 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT), furan (FURAN), thiophene (THIO), and 1-methyl-1H-pyrrole (MePyr), with isoindigo as the core electron acceptor (A) unit. Synthesis of these fluorophores (II-X-TPA) resulted in four symmetrical dye molecules: II-EDOT-TPA, II-FURAN-TPA, II-THIO-TPA, and II-MePyr-TPA, where TPA functioned as a terminal unit and a secondary electron donor group. Photophysical, electrochemical, and computational analyses were conducted to investigate the effect of heterocyclic donor units on the II-X-TPA derivatives. Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) calculations provided insightful features of structural and electronic properties of each fluorophore and correlated well with experimental observations. Electron density distribution maps, overlapping frontier molecular orbital diagrams, and highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) to lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) electron transfer indicated intramolecular charge transfer (ICT). Theoretical studies confirmed the experimental HOMO energy trend and demonstrated its crucial importance in understanding each heterocycle's donor ability. Stokes shifts of up to ∼178 nm were observed, whereas absorptions and emissions were shifted deeper into the NIR region, resulting from ICT. Results suggest that this isoindigo fluorophore series has potential as a molecular scaffold for the development of efficient FI agents. The studied fluorophores can be further tuned with different donor fragments to enhance the ICT and facilitate in shifting the optical properties further into the NIR region.

Data enhanced Hammett-equation: reaction barriers in chemical space

It is intriguing how the Hammett equation enables control of chemical reactivity throughout chemical space by separating the effect of substituents from chemical process variables, such as reaction mechanism, solvent, or temperature. We generalize Hammett's original approach to predict potential energies of activation in non aromatic molecular scaffolds with multiple substituents. We use global regression to optimize Hammett parameters ρ and σ in two experimental datasets (rate constants for benzylbromides reacting with thiols and ammonium salt decomposition), as well as in a synthetic dataset consisting of computational activation energies of ∼2400 SN2 reactions, with various nucleophiles and leaving groups (-H, -F, -Cl, -Br) and functional groups (-H, -NO2, -CN, -NH3, -CH3). Individual substituents contribute additively to molecular σ with a unique regression term, which quantifies the inductive effect. The position dependence of substituents can be modeled by a distance decaying factor for SN2. Use of the Hammett equation as a base-line model for Δ-machine learning models of the activation energy in chemical space results in substantially improved learning curves reaching low prediction errors for small training sets.

Aromaticity-Photovoltaic Property Relationship of Triphenylamine-Based D-π-A Dyes: Leads from DFT Calculations

D-π-A-based dyes find a wide range of applications in molecular electronics and photovoltaics in general and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) in particular. We speculated whether there exists a relationship between the degree of aromaticity of the π-spacers used in the D-π-A type dyes and their structural, electronic, energetic, photophysical, and intramolecular charge transfer properties. Triphenylamine (TPA) and cyanoacrylic acid (CAA) have been chosen as the donor and acceptor, respectively. In order to carry out the investigation systematically the π-spacers have been logically chosen based on their experimental resonance energies, which follows the order, furan < pyrrole < thiophene < pyridine < benzene. All the properties have been discussed based on the degree of aromaticity of the π-spacers. Geometric properties such as dihedral angles and bond lengths have been discussed extensively. Energy levels of the frontier molecular orbitals, electrochemical properties, namely, ground and excited state oxidation potentials (GSOP/ESOP), and change in Gibbs free energy for electron injection and regeneration (ΔG_inj/ΔG_reg) have also been evaluated. Photophysical properties like wavelength of maximum absorption (λ_max), oscillator strength (f), light harvesting efficiency (LHE), and intramolecular charge transfer properties, viz., charge transfer distance (D_CT), fraction of charge transferred (q_CT), and change in dipole moment (μ_CT) have been assessed. The adsorption characteristics of dye with (TiO₂)₉ nanocluster have been studied along with their optical properties. Results reveal that the nature of the relationship between the aforementioned properties and the extent of aromaticity of the π-spacers is inherently multifaceted. It thus turns out that it is highly difficult to quantify the relationship. These properties of D-π₁-π₂-A molecules can be regarded to be arising from two groups, namely, π-spacers with lower and higher resonance energies. This results in a natural trade-off in selection of competing properties. The qualitative aromaticity photovoltaic property relationship thus obtained may serve as a guide to tailor-design various properties of D-π-A type dyes for application in the intramolecular charge transfer devices.

Captodative Substitution Enhances the Diradical Character of Compounds, Reduces Aromaticity, and Controls Single-Molecule Conductivity Patterns: A Valence Bond Study

The present contribution uses a valence bond (VB) perspective to consider the captodative substitution strategy, a method to enhance the diradical character of (potentially aromatic) compounds. We confirm the qualitative reasoning that has generally been used to rationalize the diradical-character-enhancing effect of captodative substitution: this type of substitution scheme disproportionally stabilizes specific Dewar/diradical(oid) VB structures, thus increasing their weight in the full ground-state wave function. Furthermore, we assess the effect of captodative substitution on the aromaticity of the considered compound. We observe a clear trade-off between diradical character and aromaticity for our model systems: as one of these properties increases, the other decreases. This finding is especially significant within the field of single-molecule electronics because it enables unification of the previously observed inverse proportionality between the aromaticity of a compound and the magnitude of conductance through that molecule, with the observed proportionality between diradical character and the magnitude of conductance associated with a compound. To some extent, both properties, i.e., aromaticity and diradical character, appear to be the flip-sides of the same coin.

Water Docking Bias in [4]Helicene

We report on the one- and two-water clusters of [4]helicene, the smallest polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon with a helical sense, which were captured in the gas phase using high-resolution rotational spectroscopy. The structures of the complexes are unambiguously revealed using microwave spectra of isotopically enriched species. In the one-water cluster, the apparent splitting pattern is consistent with a tunneling motion that encompasses an exchange of strongly and weakly bonded water hydrogens. This motion is "locked" in the two-water cluster. The relevant intermolecular contacts, symmetry, and aromaticity effects are unveiled for the microsolvated chiral topologies. These observations entail the first glance at the structures and internal dynamics of the water binding motifs of a chiral polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.

Effect of Exocyclic Substituents and π-System Length on the Electronic Structure of Chichibabin Diradical(oid)s

The ground state (GS) of Chichibabin's polycyclic hydrocarbons (CPHs) can be singlet [open- or closed-shell (OSS or CS)] or triplet (T), depending on the elongation of the π-system and the exocyclic substituents. CPHs with either a small singlet-triplet energy gap (ΔE ST) or even a triplet GS have potential applications in optoelectronics. To analyze the effect of the size and exocyclic substituents on the nature of the GS of CPHs, we have selected a number of them with different substituents in the exocyclic carbon atoms and different ring chain lengths. The OPBE/cc-pVTZ level of theory was used for the optimization of the systems. The aromaticity of the resulting electronic structures was evaluated with HOMA, NICS, FLU, PDI, Iring, and MCI aromaticity indices. Our results show that the shortest π-systems (one or two rings) have a singlet GS. However, systems with three to five rings favor OSS GSs. Electron-withdrawing groups (EWGs) and aromatic substituents in the exocyclic carbons tend to stabilize the OSS and T states, whereas electron-donating groups slightly destabilize them. For CS, OSS, and T states, aromaticity measures indicate a gain of aromaticity of the 6-membered rings of the CPHs with the increase in their size and when CPHs incorporate EWGs or aromatic substituents. In general, the CPHs analyzed present small singlet-triplet energy gaps, and in particular, the ones containing EWGs or aromatic substituents present the smallest singlet-triplet energy gaps.

Substituent effects on the aromaticity of benzene-An approach based on interaction coordinates

Benzene and 23 monosubstituted and 32 disubstituted derivatives of benzene were optimized for minimum energy structures using the B3LYP/cc-pVTZ method. The force fields of all the compounds were evaluated at their optimized geometries using the same method and basis set. In order to understand the effect of substitution(s) on the aromaticity of benzene, the aromaticity index based on interaction coordinates (AIBIC) values were computed for each and the change from the benzene value was obtained. This difference, the substituent effect based on interaction coordinates (SEBIC), quantifies the effect of the substituent on the aromaticity of benzene ring satisfactorily. It is found that the AIBIC of disubstituted benzenes (XC₆H₄Y) could be predicted well by adding the respective SEBIC(C₆H₅X) and SEBIC(C₆H₅Y) values to the AIBIC of benzene. The projected force fields of the meta and para fragments of the monosubstituted benzenes when chosen properly contain the information about the directing influence of the substituent in terms of the electron density based on interaction coordinates (EDBIC). When the EDBIC(para) > EDBIC(meta) relative to benzene, the substituent is ortho-para directing, while when the reverse is true, it is meta directing. The effect of conformational changes on aromaticity has been studied using aminophenols and dihydroxybenzenes. The additivity rule and the EDBIC concept work adequately well in that the methods can have several useful practical applications that will benefit various areas of science. A good understanding of the substituent effects and the ability to predict them should add a new dimension to the applications of AIBIC.